Page 11 - CHRISTIE'S Barron Collection Snuff Bottles 09/13/17

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A CARVED SILHOUETTE AGATE SNUFF BOTTLE
OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1780-1880
The light-brown bottle is carved through the mottled russet markings with a squirrel
climbing to a cluster of grapes.

2Ω in. (6.4 cm.) high, glass stopper

$6,000-8,000

PROVENANCE

Robert C. Eldred Co., East Dennis, Massachusetts, 28 August 2008, lot 279.
Ruth and Carl Barron Collection, Belmont, Massachusetts, no. 856.

As squirrels have large litters, the depiction of a squirrel with trailing vines may be a visual
rebus for a wish for many sons and the continuation of the family line, the winding vines
representing the family lineage. It has also been suggested that the squirrel and grape-
vine motif conveys a wish for promotion to a higher rank.
1780-1880年 皮影瑪瑙松鼠葡萄圖鼻煙壺

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